People In Ecuador Research Articles

Prevalence of obesity and associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in Ecuadorian children and adolescents.

Given the increasing prevalence of obesity in young people in Ecuador, there is a need to understand the factors associated with this condition. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of obesity in Ecuadorian children and adolescents aged 5-17 years and identify its associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición (ENSANUT-2018). The final sample consisted of 11,980 participants who providedfullinformation on the variables of interest. The prevalence of obesity was 12.7%. A lower odd of having obesity was observed for adolescents; for those with a breadwinner with an educational level in middle/high school or higher; for each additional day with 60 or more minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; and for those with greater dailyvegetable consumption (one, two, or three or more servings). Conversely, there were greater odds of obesity in participants from families with medium, poor, and very poor wealth and those from the coast and insular region. The high prevalence of obesity in Ecuadorian children and adolescents is a public health concern. Sociodemographic and lifestyle behavior differences in young people with obesity should be considered when developing specific interventions. As the prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents increases in Latin America, with a particular focus on Ecuador, it becomes crucial to delve into the factors linked to this condition and identify the most successful strategies for its mitigation. The elevated prevalence of obesity among young individuals in Ecuador raises significant public health concerns. To develop targeted interventions, it is crucial to account for sociodemographic variables and lifestyle behaviors that contribute to obesity in this population.

People in Ecuador and the United States conceptualize compassion differently: The role of avoided negative affect.

Even people from frequently studied cultural contexts differ in how they conceptualize compassion, partly because of differences in how much they want to avoid feeling negative. To broaden this past work, we include participants from an understudied cultural context and start to examine the process through which culture shapes compassion. Based on ethnographic and empirical studies that include Ecuadorians, we predicted that Ecuadorians would want to avoid feeling negative less compared to U.S. Americans. Furthermore, we hypothesized that because of these differences in avoided negative affect, compared to U.S. Americans, for Ecuadorians, a compassionate response would contain more emotion sharing, which in turn would be associated with conceptualizing a compassionate face as one that mirrors sadness more and expresses happiness (e.g., a kind smile) less. Using a reverse correlation task, participants in the United States and Ecuador selected the stimuli that most resembled a compassionate face. They also reported how much they wanted to avoid feeling negative and described what a compassionate response would entail. As predicted, compared to U.S. Americans, Ecuadorians wanted to avoid feeling negative less, they conceptualized a compassionate response as one that focused more on emotion sharing, and visualized a compassionate face as one that contained more sadness and less happiness. Furthermore, exploratory analyses suggest that wanting to avoid feeling negative and conceptualizations of a compassionate response as emotion sharing partly sequentially explained the cultural differences in conceptualizations of a compassionate face. What people regard as compassionate differs across cultures, which has important implications for cross-cultural counseling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Supplemental Material for People in Ecuador and the United States Conceptualize Compassion Differently: The Role of Avoided Negative Affect

Supplemental Material for People in Ecuador and the United States Conceptualize Compassion Differently: The Role of Avoided Negative Affect

Nutrition is Perceived as an Ecosystem Service of the Mangrove by Rural People in Ecuador

The mangrove ecosystem is considered as the source of livelihood, particularly for coastal areas. This study explores the perception of the inhabitants of Puerto El Morro and the island of Costa Rica (Ecuador) against the ecosystem services of the mangrove. Seven quantitative variables were used on the Likert scale by performing exploratory factor analysis. The results were based on a sample of 94 participants finding 2 factors, tourism (29.07% of variance) and nutritious food production (25.45% of variance remaining). The reliability of the questionnaire was acceptable according to Cronbach’s Alpha 0.654. A confirmatory factor analysis is necessary to revalidate the items of the factors.
 Keywords: coastal communities, eating, mangroves, livelihoods, nutrition.
 Resumen
 El ecosistema de manglar se considera fuente de medios de vida, en particular para zonas costeras. Este estudio explora la percepción de los habitantes de Puerto El Morro y la isla Costa Rica (Ecuador) frente a los servicios ecosistémicos del manglar. Se utilizaron 7 variables cuantitativas en escala de Likert realizando análisis factorial exploratorio. Los resultados parten de una muestra de 94 participantes, hallando 2 factores: turismo (29,07% de varianza) y producción alimentos nutritivos (25,45% de varianza restante). La confiabilidad del cuestionario fue aceptable según el Alfa de Cronbach 0.654. Es necesario un análisis factorial confirmatorio para revalidar los ítems de los factores.
 Palabras Clave: comunidades costeras; alimentación; manglares; medios de vida; nutrición.

Leishmania species and clinical characteristics of Pacific and Amazon cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ecuador and determinants of health-seeking delay: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundCutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) affects up to 5.000 people in Ecuador each year. L. guyanensis and L. braziliensis are the most common of the eight CL-causing Leishmania species. Earlier CL research concentrated on the easily accessible Pacific region. This study aims to describe the Leishmania species in Pacific and Amazon ecoregions, to analyze regional differences in CL patient clinical presentation, and to identify determinants of health-seeking delay.MethodsAll cases in this cross-sectional study were diagnosed using smear slide microscopy, PCR, or both. Cytochrome B gene sequencing was used to identify the causative Leishmania species in qPCR-positive samples.ResultsThis study included 245 patients, with 154 (63%) infected in the Pacific region and 91 (37%) infected in the Amazon. Causative Leishmania species were identified in 135 patients (73% of qPCR positives). L. guyanensis was identified in 76% (102/135) of the samples and L. braziliensis in 19% (26/135). The Pacific region had a low prevalence of 6% (5/89) of L. braziliensis. For the first time, we report L. guyanensis from the central Amazon, L. braziliensis from the northern Pacific, and L. lainsoni from both the central Amazon and northern Pacific. Amazon cases had a longer median health-seeking delay in months (2.0, IQR 3.0) than Pacific cases (1.0, IQR 1.5). Prolonged health-seeking delay was associated with older age, Amerindian ethnicity, infection at lower altitudes, non-ulcerative lesions, and lesions on the lower limbs.ConclusionsIn the Pacific region, health-seeking delay is relatively short and L. braziliensis prevalence remains low. Limited access to health care and stigma might explain the prolonged health-seeking delay in the Amazon. We recommend larger studies on the distribution of Leishmania species in Amazon CL cases and additional regional research into diagnostic test accuracy. Furthermore, the determinants of health-seeking delay in Ecuador should be investigated further.

INDIGENOUS ECUADORIANS’ CHALLENGES AND ATTEMPTS TO COMBAT EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES: A HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH

Ecuador is remarkably known as the first country that granted natural constitutional rights. However, it still does not guarantee its nature preservation. This Latin American country is also highly dependent on oil. The dilemma of the continuity of the extractive industries emerged in the discussion. This influences indigenous peoples' unmet rights, especially when they are the ones who are directly affected by climate change as forest dwellers. To defend their territories, indigenous people in Ecuador do not stand still. Indigenous rights and sovereignty over their lands are becoming more widely recognized, which may prevent the Amazon from further damage. This research aims to investigate the actions and challenges that Indigenous Ecuadorians must face in combatting extractive industries. The authors use a descriptive qualitative approach and collect data from library research. This study uses a human rights-based approach to analyze the content of this paper. As a result, this research found that Ecuador’s government which plays the duty-bearer is failing and lacking the obligations to protect indigenous rights. On the other side, the indigenous people in Ecuador are thriving to defend their rights by reflecting on the human rights-based approach's five principles: participation, accountability, non-discrimination and equality, empowerment, and legality. Indigenous peoples and environmental groups are not enabling misery or hunger by supporting the environmentally practical measure.

“This is not What God Intended”: Attitudes Toward Adoption by Same-sex Couples in Ecuador

IntroductionIn Ecuador, adoption is limited to heterosexual couples and information on attitudes toward same-sex couples who intend to become parents following this pathway is scarce. This study aimed to identify the beliefs of a sample of 319 cisgender people in Ecuador regarding the adoption of children by same-sex couples and explore the reasons why they consider it is appropriate or not for lesbian and gay (LG) couples to adopt children. MethodsBetween May and October 2019, participants responded quantitative and qualitative questions after reading a vignette about a couple interested in adopting a child. Participants were randomly presented with one out of three versions of the vignette based on the couples’ sexual orientation (L,G, heterosexual). Descriptive, correlational statistics and analysis of variance were used to conduct quantitative analyses. Qualitative responses were analyzed using thematic and content analysis.ResultsResults indicate favorability toward adoption by all couples in general. However, people showed the highest concerns about adoption by LG couples. Qualitative answers indicate the existence of nine types of arguments used by participants to explain their position in favor or against adoption by same-sex couples.ConclusionSome are problematic since they are rooted in prejudiced ideas about heterosexual people’s superiority regarding their capacities to create emotionally nurturing environments.Policy ImplicationsProviding information regarding LG parenting might be a way of achieving legislative changes that might, in turn, promote social change by providing a legal platform for same-sex couples to achieve parenthood.

“I am Kichwa”: The Funds of Identity of an Indigenous Ecuadoran NNES Teacher

AbstractTo counter ongoing NES/NNES, NEST/NNEST dichotomies and the essentializing of NNESs (Ellis, 2016), we examine the personal and professional tensions of an Indigenous Ecuadoran NNES teaching in a dominant Spanish‐speaking context. We attend to the ways Roberto (pseudonym) responds to his students and his peers through the lens of his Kichwa identity, the historic oppressed positionality of and ongoing prejudice toward Indigenous peoples in Ecuador. In such contexts, Roberto cannot share “insider” cultural references to enhance his EFL instruction; rather, he is perpetually set as an outsider—both in the broader frame of NNES movement and more singularly and powerfully within his own professional context. We draw upon Esteban‐Guitart and Moll's (2014) “funds of identity” and teacher professional identity development (Sachs, 2005) to explore the following central tensions in Roberto's evolving professional teaching identity: (1) Roberto's sense of himself as (il)legitimate speaker of English, (2) role of structural oppression toward Kichwa as it mediates his perceptions and interactions, and (3) the increased use of communicative‐based language instruction. Attending to the multiple facets and resources that comprise “funds of identity,” EFL teacher educators can better account for the complex identity formation for EFL teachers and students.

Lenguaje y discrimianción racial del afroecuatoriano

This article analyzes the language of racial discrimination against the Afro-Ecuadorian people in Ecuador, which violates the right to equality and non-discrimination. The objective of the study is to analyze the regulatory framework that seeks to prevent and punish racial discrimination against the Afro-Ecuadorian people and how this phenomenon is manifested at the level of language in Ecuador. A documentary type study was carried out, where the materials used are books, scientific journal articles, institutional reports and current Ecuadorian legislation related to the subject, analyzed according to their nature through the methods of documentary analysis, deductive of legal norms. The result is a characterization of the current regulatory regime to prevent and punish the manifestations of disbelief expressed through language, which allowed concluding that beyond the current legal norms, racial discrimination against the Afro-Ecuadorian people has cultural roots that merit a comprehensive response within the framework of the principles of interculturality and plurinationality.

Abuelo-palenque: estética, pedagogía, y lucha política en las enseñanzas del Abuelo Zenón/Abuelo-Palenque: aesthetics, pedagogy, and political struggle in the teachings of Abuelo Zenón

For fifty years, Afro Ecuadorian intellectual and activist Juan García Salazar (1948–2017) documented the collective wisdom inscribed in the oral tradition of African descent peoples in Ecuador. This archive emerges in the region’s intellectual realm as a political intervention that seeks to vindicate afro Ecuadorian historical demands while protecting and transmitting ancestral knowledge. It is an expression of the guardians of tradition and a community that defies the Ecuadorian state’s whitemestizo hegemony.

Ethnic inequalities in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health interventions in Ecuador: A study of the 2004 and 2012 national surveys.

SummaryBackgroundAnalysis of health inequalities by ethnicity is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In Ecuador, similar to other Latin American countries, indigenous and afro-descendant populations have long been subject to racism, discrimination, and inequitable treatment. Although in recent years, Ecuador has made progress in health indicators, particularly those related to the coverage of Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (RMNCH) interventions, little is known as to whether inequalities by ethnicity persist.MethodsAnalysis was based on two nationally representative health surveys (2004 and 2012). Ethnicity was self-reported and classified into three categories (Indigenous/Afro-Ecuadorian/Mixed ancestry). Coverage data for six RMNCH health interventions were stratified for each ethnic group by level of education, area of residence and wealth quintiles. Absolute inequality measures were computed and multivariate analysis using Poisson regression was undertaken.FindingsIn 2012, 74.4% of women self-identifying as indigenous did not achieve the secondary level of education and 50.7% were in the poorest quintile (Q1); this profile was relatively unchanged since 2004. From 2004 to 2012, the coverage of RMNCH interventions increased for all ethnic groups, and absolute inequality decreased. However, in 2012, regardless of education level, area of residence and wealth quintiles, ethnic inequalities remained for almost all RMNCH interventions. Indigenous women had 24% lower prevalence of modern contraceptive use (Prevalence ratio [PR] = 0.76; 95% IC: 0.7–0.8); 28% lower prevalence of antenatal care (PR = 0.72; 95% IC: 0.6–0.8); and 35% lower prevalence of skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery (PR = 0.65; 95% IC: 0.6–0.7 and PR = 0.65; 95% IC: 0.6–0.7 respectively), compared with the majority ethnic group in the country.InterpretationWhile the gaps have narrowed, indigenous people in Ecuador continue in a situation of structural racism and are left behind in terms of access to RMNCH interventions. Strategies to reduce ethnic inequalities in the coverage services need to be collaboratively redesigned/co-designed.FundingThis paper was made possible with funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [Grant Number: INV-007,594/OPP1148933].

Exploring the Link between Oil Exploitation and Cancer in the Indigenous Population of Ecuador: A Scoping Review.

With cancer accounting for 19% of deaths and projected to rise in the coming years, Ecuador’s inequities in healthcare coverage remain a major concern for the rural, indigenous populations. While the cancer burden among this vulnerable population has been much publicized in the context of the controversial oil extraction in the Amazon, there is contradictory evidence on its occurrence and determinants. This review critically discusses the available literature on cancer among indigenous people in Ecuador and explores the link between oil exploitation and cancer occurrence among indigenous people using a scoping review approach. The results of this review show there is a clear but inconsistent association between oil exposure and cancer risk in indigenous populations of Ecuador. While the environmental magnitude of oil extraction in this region is a topic of debate, our findings point to the interplay with social determinants and other sources of carcinogenic compounds, which exacerbates the risks faced by indigenous communities. Based on these findings, this study puts forward three arguments to contextualize the occurrence of cancer related to oil exploitation in the Amazon, and puts forth key recommendations for public health initiatives embedded within the local community.

Decolonial Possibilities of Reintroducing the Devil in the Public Space of Afro‐Ecuadorian Territories

The article discusses the decolonial possibilities of the collective design of a sound artwork in reimagining the role of two Afro‐Ecuadorian music and dance‐based events in the Afro‐Ecuadorian ancestral territories of North Esmeraldas and Chota‐Mira. The two events, Bomba del Chota and Marimba Esmeraldeña, emerged in the context of slavery and colonialism as a response of Afro‐Ecuadorians to the oppression and violence they endured. These two music and dance‐based events sustain a counter‐narrative of power and resistance for Afrodescendant peoples in Ecuador, weaving meaningful connections among them and other entities populating their territories, such as the “devil,” whose cohabitation with Afro‐Ecuadorians will be at the spotlight of our analysis. Based on the audio‐recorded testimonies of these connections that strongly existed until the 1970s, and of a sonic composition that was created from them, we propose a collaborative design of a sound artwork in the public spaces of the jungle in Esmeraldas and the mountain in Chota‐Mira. We discuss how a decolonial approach to the design of the artwork can serve as a dialogical space to engage inhabitants in their re‐connection to the possibilities of resistance that their ancestors nurtured in their territories through the practice of the two music and dance‐based events. Through a political reading of soundscapes, an argument is developed to show how sound constructs the public spaces that root people in their territories, connecting them with meaningful stories and practices that keep being forgotten due to the on‐going consequences of slavery and colonialism. The article contributes to the discussion about political ecologies and the collective production of public spaces as a joyful response to exclusion and oppression.

“Shovel-Ready”

“Shovel-Ready”

The A'ingae Co-Occurrence Constraint

Many OT frameworks have been proposed to account for co-occurrence phenomena, including agreement as correspondence (Rose & Walker, 2004) and total and partial identity (Gallagher & Coon, 2009). However, aggressive reduplication (Zuraw, 2002) is best able to account for new data from A'ingae, as it accounts for agreement between whole syllables rather than individual segments. In this paper, I put forward novel co-occurrence data from A'ingae, a language isolate spoken by approximately 1,500 people in Ecuador and Colombia. I then describe how the data can be accounted for using Zuraw's (2002) aggressive reduplication, with only minor modifications. Finally, I consider historical motivations for the existence of this type of co-occurrence pattern.

Land and livelihood in the age of COVID-19: Implications for indigenous food producers in Ecuador.

Like many Latin American countries, Ecuador responded to COVID‐19 by restricting trade and travel, a decision that disrupted the prevailing model of regional trade integration. Among some analysts, observations have been made that the lockdown represents a new opportunity to revitalize rural livelihoods and smallholder agriculture. This paper evaluates these claims by exploring the impact of COVID‐19 on household food security and smallholder food production in Chimborazo, a highland province that is known for extremely high rates of poverty and the highest concentration of Kichwa‐speaking Indigenous people in Ecuador. Drawing upon original empirical research, it makes the case that the prospects for revitalizing smallholder production remain structurally constrained by a legacy of land inequality and failed agrarian reform. According to our findings, the only sectors that thrived during the lockdown were ones that served local markets. For those requiring significant shipping and storage, merchants and traders were able to drive down farmgate prices, squeezing local producers. At the same time, new government legislation made it easier for employers to terminate wage labourers, undermining a vital source of income and employment for low‐income households. Far from revitalizing smallholder agriculture, the pandemic appears to have further entrenched an economic model of supporting agribusiness at the expense of family farms and migrant labour.

BACTERIAS Y PARÁSITOS PATÓGENOS HUMANOS AISLADOS DE AGUAS ESTANCADAS DURANTE EL FENÓMENO EL NIÑO-COSTERO EN PERÚ

Varios países son extremadamente susceptibles al cambio climático y el fenómeno El Niño-costero afectó a más de dos millones de personas en Ecuador, Colombia y Perú. Nuestro objetivo fue evaluar la calidad microbiológica de las aguas estancadas en la región de Lambayeque, Perú, durante el estado de emergencia causado por el fenómeno El Niño-costero mediante un estudio transversal realizado en cuatro distritos de Lambayeque: (Centro de Chiclayo, Mocupe, San José y Pimentel), Perú. Se tomaron dos muestras simultáneas de cada distrito de evaluación, y se trasladaron a Lima para su análisis microbiológico completo. Aislamos parásitos patógenos humanos (Trichuris trichiura (Linnaeus, 1771) y Entamoeba histolytica Schaudinn, 1903) y bacterias (Staphylococcus aureus Rosenbach, 1884 y Salmonella typhi (Schroeter, 1886)) que presentaban patrones de resistencia a los antimicrobianos convencionales de primera línea (penicilina, ácido nalidíxico, nitrofurantoína y cloranfenicol). Asimismo, mostramos evidencia de microorganismos relacionados con el sitio de muestreo (distrito) y con el grado de afectación por el fenómeno. Nuestro resultado sugiere que las aguas estancadas de cuatro distritos de Lambayeque presentaron parásitos patógenos humanos y bacterias de alta importancia médica por los cambios repentinos en el clima a través del fenómeno El Niño-costero.

The Global Biosphere and Its Metaphysical Underpinnings: Ecumenical Alternatives in Animism and Astrobiology

The term biosphere designates the “zone of life” on Earth. Outside this sphere, everything becomes “alien.” In this view of things, which I take to be canonical in the modern West, terrestrial life and biosphere overlap more or less neatly. Yet this idea of an almost perfect convergence is not the only view possible. This study presents two anthropological cases which demonstrate, a contrario, that the modern tendency to envisage the biosphere as “our home environment” or as “our familiar world” is in many ways a historical accident. Other ecumenical possibilities (by which I refer to the ancient Greek notion of the “inhabited world,” the oikumene) are by no means unthinkable. Examining the ecumenical originality of two communities that at first sight seem unrelated – Chachi indigenous people in Ecuador and scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial life – will allow us to cast new light on the metaphysical underpinnings of the modern biosphere concept.

Ethnic Inequalities in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Interventions in Ecuador: A Study of the 2004 and 2012 National Surveys

Objectives: Analysis of health inequalities by ethnicity is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In Ecuador, similar to other Latin-American countries, indigenous and afro-descendant populations have long been subject to racism, discrimination, and inequitable treatment. Although in recent years, Ecuador has made progress in health indicators, particularly those related to the coverage of Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child health (RMNCH) interventions, little is known if inequalities by ethnicity persist. Design: Analysis was based on two nationally representative health surveys (2004 and 2012). Ethnicity was self-reported and classified into three categories (Indigenous/Afro-Ecuadorian/Mixed ancestry). Six RMNCH health intervention coverages were selected. Coverage for each ethnic group was stratified by level of education, area of residence and wealth quintiles. Absolute inequality measures and multivariate analysis using Poisson regression was undertaken. Results: In 2012, 74.4% of women self-identifying as indigenous did not achieve the secondary level of education and 50.7% were in the poorest quintile (Q1); this profile was relatively unchanged since 2004. From 2004 to 2012 the coverage of RMNCH interventions increased for all ethnic groups, and absolute inequality decreased. However, in 2012, regardless of education level, area of residence and wealth quintiles, ethnic inequalities remained for almost all RMNCH interventions. Indigenous had 24% lower prevalence of modern contraceptive use (Prevalence ratio [PR]=0.76; 95% IC: 0.7-0.8); 28% less prevalence of antenatal care (PR=0.72; 95% IC: 0.6-0.8); and 35% of less prevalence of skilled birth attendance and institutional delivery (PR=0.65; 95% IC: 0.6-0.7 and PR=0.65; 95% IC: 0.6-0.7 respectively), compared with the majority ethnic group in the country. Conclusion: While the gaps have narrowed, indigenous people in Ecuador continue in a situation of structural racism and are left behind in terms of access to RMNCH interventions. Strategies to reduce ethnic inequalities in the coverage services need to be collaboratively redesigned/co-designed. Funding Information: This paper was made possible with funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [Grant Number: INV-007594/OPP1148933]. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The institutions that carried out the surveys received the relevant ethical approvals.

Páramo Ecosystems in Ecuador’s Southern Region: Conservation State and Restoration

The páramo is home to a significant proportion of global biodiversity and provides essential services for the development of life for millions of people in Ecuador. However, land use/land cover (LULC) changes threaten biodiversity and modify its functioning. The objectives of this study were: (1) to evaluate the conservation status of the herbaceous páramo (HP) ecosystem by analyzing its LULC in Ecuador’s southern region. (2) to identify possible regions where the native páramo ecosystem is being restored. We analyzed Landsat 8 images using Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and a Classifier Decision Tree (CDT) to achieve these objectives. The results show that the native herbaceous páramo (NHP) ecosystem is being transformed into an anthropogenic HP (AHP). The area covered by the NHP ecosystem (296,964 ha) has been reduced by 50% (149,834 ha). Nevertheless, we identified five regions where the NHP is upgrading. These regions are relevant for studying NHP regeneration in Ecuador’s southern region, where soils are mostly andosols. The LU of the páramo, with cycles of exploitation, abandonment, and regeneration in a secondary páramo, is transforming the NHP ecosystem. These exploitation practices, global climate change, and lack of knowledge about the NHP ecosystem’s regeneration and its soils’ recovery threaten to substantially reduce the NHP area, its functionality, and its ecosystem services.